


Until Time Runs Out and Our Eyes Meet

by forever_River_Song



Category: Doctor Who RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Mattex, soul mates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-30
Updated: 2014-09-23
Packaged: 2018-02-06 22:29:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 16,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1874802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forever_River_Song/pseuds/forever_River_Song
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone has the mark. Everyone knows exactly when it will happen. They spend their whole lives watching the seconds pass. Until their time runs out and they meet the eyes of the one who is theirs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The ones who have and the ones who have not

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me when I found this post on tumblr.  
> http://illness-and-instruments.tumblr.com/post/3139087743/timer-2009-if-a-clock-could-count-down-to-the  
> It starts as 3 story lines and jumps into one. It involves a lot of dates and times. I tried to be as accurate as possible with all of it and I am apologizing in advance for any mistakes I make.  
> Its G for now but could be upped to teen and/or mature later.  
> I really hope you enjoy this guys. I am really excited to be sharing it. :)

When Matt was born on October 28th 1982, the doctor’s first action was to turn his left arm and over and look at the newborn’s wrist. Some babies didn’t have them right away, the marks on their wrist, sometimes they showed up as late as the child’s fifth birthday. Not this one though, the doctor looked and smile, “This little man has a good, long time before he has to worry about love.” Then handed the round-faced blue-eyed baby to the nurse for cleaning.

Matt’s long time was actually thirty years, four months, three days, fourteen hours, fourteen minutes, and forty seconds to be exact. He was going to be over thirty years old before he met the person who would love him unconditionally and stay with him forever. His mother kissed his little hand as she watched the seconds continue to go down. She thought it was a terribly long time to wait, but she had to admit it was better than what her sweet daughter was dealing with.

Little Laura Jayne had a very unique problem. Her countdown appear not long before her baby brother was born. At first it said she had exactly twenty three years until she met the man of her dreams. Her parents were excited for her, twenty six was a good age to fall in love, but then the next day her little timer read ten days. To their surprise it continued to change every day. Laura was too little to understand yet, but her mother and father worried for her. They had never seen or heard of this happening and they didn’t know what it meant.

They had worried Matt would be the same, but as the days passed, and they brought him home from the hospital, his numbers continued to steadily decrease. When they laid him to bed at night his mother would kiss his forehead then his wrist then do the same to little Laura. She prayed for the best for both of them.

Next door to the Smiths was the Darvills. Their son Arthur was born only four months and eleven days before Matt. Arthur didn’t have his mark yet. His parents weren’t very worried though, the cases of someone never getting them were so rare. They knew he would be fine, they just had to have patience.

Matt and Arthur began playing together when Matt’s mother went back to work. Arthur’s mom gladly agreed to watch him and Laura during the day. That was the beginning of their friendship. Every day after Matt was three months old he and Arthur were together. For a couple years Laura was there with them, not that she paid them any mind. She liked to read her books and play with her dolls. Then one day Laura wasn’t there. Matt was almost two and his sister didn’t go with him to the house next door. That confused him, but he had Arthur and that was nice. They did everything together, they shared their toys and played in the mud. They were best friends.

Their second birthdays passed. Matt had twenty nine years, four months, three days, fourteen hours, fourteen minutes, and forty seconds. Arthur had nothing. Their third birthdays had come and gone. Matt had twenty eight years, four months, three days, fourteen hours, fourteen minutes and forty seconds. Arthur still had nothing. At each of Arthur’s birthdays his parents stared at his arm. Every moment closer they were to his fifth birthday the more worried they became, maybe he would never get his clock, maybe he would be alone forever. His fourth birthday rolled around and still there wasn’t a shadow of a mark on the boys left wrist.

Laura had even become a bit worried for her baby brother’s friend. She may never actually know when she would meet him, but at least she still had the chance, it would just be a surprise. Poor Arthur, on the other hand, may never have a soul mate.

When his fifth birthday arrived everyone discreetly inspected the boy’s arm. He opened presents, played in the bouncy house with the other kids, ate cake and ice cream. At the end of the day when they put him and Matt to bed for their sleepover his mom checked his wrist. She sighed and shook her head. Arthur’s arm was still bare, she whispered to him, “There is always next year.”

She was born only a month after Matt’s fifth birthday. The Doctor held her up to her mother. She had big eyes and a very round face, her hair the color of fire. “Karen,” her mother cooed. The baby reached for her mother and on her left wrist her father spotted her mark, the seconds steadily decreasing. She had twenty five years, three months, three days, seven hours, fifty three minutes, and thirty three seconds until she met her match. It was a decent amount of time to raise her to be a proper lady. Being and only child Karen got everything. She grew up loud and wild, but with the biggest heart anyone had ever known. Her red hair always wild around her pale face. She was beautiful.

Alex was born long before the others, twenty years before them. She didn’t bare a mark at birth. Her parents didn’t worry, she had plenty of time for it to show itself. When her first birthday rolled around there was nothing. They couldn’t find the time to care though, they were celebrating the life of their curly haired daughter. Her second birthday came and went and still nothing. It was fine, she still had plenty of time, it would show. Her third and fourth birthdays were long gone when they began to think maybe it would wait until the last possible moment. Then her fifth birthday arrived. They gave her presents and she ate her cake. By the end of the day she had worn herself clean out. Her father picked up his sleeping beauty and laid her in her bed. Her little arm fell beside her with her wrist visible. Nothing. His heart sank. Maybe she would never get it.

When Alex was ten the kids at school called her weird. She didn’t have a mark, she didn’t have a soul mate. “Alex you’ll always be alone,” they sneered at her, “No one will ever love you.”

“Yes they will. It will just be a surprise.” She was trying to convince herself more than them really. She hated that she was unmarked, they treated her like a freak.

When she was fifteen, they just started to pity her. The same ones who would torture her when they were younger were trying to comfort her now. “It will be fine Lex, you’ll find someone. This stupid number means nothing.”

“Yeah, I know.” She would smile, but at night she would cry. She didn’t want to be alone forever.

At twenty she moved out on her own. Her mother was worried about her. “Darling please, stay here and go to school. It will be fine. You wouldn’t have to work and take classes. I could still cook for you. It’s fine, you are not a burden,” She pleaded.

“Mother, I assure you I will be fine. I already have everything paid for. I promise to call every night and come home straight away if I feel overwhelmed at any time.” She kissed her mother’s cheek, “I am a big girl now, and I’ll be fine.” Then she got in her car and drove away.


	2. Make a wish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry its short, but I thought it needed to stand alone.

Arthur sat in his room on his sixth birthday. No one had arrived for the party yet and he was just sitting on his bed staring at his arm. He knew he was different, even if no one would say it. Everyday his mother would check his arm thinking he didn’t notice. He was six not stupid. He didn’t have the mark like Matt and Laura had. He was odd compared them. He didn’t even really understand why the mark was so important, why the changing numbers meant so much to his family, but he knew it made the people around him act differently towards him. He didn’t want to be different.

He sighed when he heard Matt running up the stairs. “Arthur!!! Do you realize they have the bouncy house with the pool attached?!” He immediately began stripping out of his clothes.

“Yeah, I know,” he sounded dead. He stared at his bare feet, “Matt, am I weird?”

“Yeah, but so am I if you ask Laura. That’s why we’re friends.” He smiled and threw a sock at him. It hit him right in the face.

“Hey!” He threw it back at Matt. They laughed and for a moment Arthur didn’t think about the difference, even if he could see Matt’s seconds dwindling on his arm. “Let’s go play!”

“Last one there’s a rotten egg!” Matt screamed as he flung open Arthur’s bedroom door and they rushed down the stairs.

Soon party guests arrived and showered the young boy with presents. They ate hamburgers and played in the bouncy house. He could see the marks on most of the kids’ arms. Every one of them counting down to a different moment. Arthur could quite grasp why those moments were so important, but maybe he wouldn’t have one. He looked down at his bare wrist, maybe being weird was ok; at least he didn’t have to worry about that moment. He would be anxiously imagining what would happen as the moment grew closer like his cousin had the month prior. He could be carefree like Laura was, her countdown was messed up, and she was the most confident person he knew, even if she was only nine.

When it was time for cake and ice cream everyone gathered around the picnic table to watch Arthur blow out his candles. His mother set the cake down in front of him, six striped candles burning brightly, “Make a wish darling,” she whispered, then kissed his head.

He stared at the flickering light of the candles and thought, _I want a red bicycle…. and I want a mark._ Then he blew out his candles. Everyone cheered and sang happy birthday. He and his friends ate cake and ice cream and laughed and then continued to play. When he opened his presents he did get the bike and it was bright red and the first thing he did was ride it. He road it around the backyard and then the front yard. He let Matt have a turn riding it, and then the other kids. They spent the rest of the day chasing each other on the bike.

When all the guest had left and Matt and Laura sat with Arthur in his room. Laura saw his wrist. “Arthur, your arm!” She smiled and pointed at his left arm.

He held up his arm and stared at the newly formed mark, “I’m not a weirdo!” He laughed, “Mom! Mom!” He jumped up and ran down stairs. He showed his parents and they hugged him and laughed, relieved that he had just been a late bloomer.

Later, when they were getting ready for bed Matt inspected his best friends left wrist. “Our numbers match. Laura why do our numbers match?”

Laura looked at the boys arms. Their numbers where exactly the same, twenty four years, eight months, fourteen days, one hour and twenty-nine minutes and fourteen seconds. “It means you’re going to meet them at the same time, duh! You two will be the only friend the other ever has so you’ll probably be together too.” She shook her head and laid down in her sleeping bag.

“Cool!” They giggled as they, too, laid down to sleep.


	3. You are like me

Alex had been in her flat for a couple years before she really cared to ever get to know her neighbors. The elderly woman living to the right of her flat was pleasant enough. She had offered to cook her dinner, explaining how her children didn’t come to see her much anymore since her husband had passed away. The couple across the way were newly-weds and were a little too sickening sweet for Alex. They weren’t out of their “we found each other and immediately got married and honeymooned” stage, but they were nice people. The flat to her left always seemed to have people coming and going. The tenants only ever staying for two or three months at a time. This month is was a rather handsome man. He seemed nice enough but he was always leaving early and getting home late. She assumed he must work very hard.

It was a Saturday when she finally got to speak with him properly. She had gotten up very early to go to the store. She had her list between her teeth as she locked her door when a voice caught her by surprise, “Good morning.” It was like honey, sweet and dripping down her spine.

She looked up into his welcoming eyes. He was leaning against the wall between their doors. “Good morning to you,” She smiled and began the walk towards the stairs.

He followed her all the way to the end of the hall before he spoke again, “Where are you off to on this fine morning?”

“Wherever I please,” she threw over her shoulder and continued down the stairs. She couldn’t figure why he had suddenly taken an interest in her. They’d passed each other many times without a second thought and now he wanted to talk?

“My name’s Ralph by the way,” He continued to follow a step behind her. She couldn’t decide if she was flattered or scared by his insistence in following her. She hummed a response and continued down the next flight of stairs.

“Your name is Alex right?” Alex hummed her response again as she got to the last flight of stairs. “That’s a lovely name.” She smiled to herself, he was persistent. As she got to the bottom of the stairs and maybe her way out to the street she looked behind her to see him right on her heels.

“Do you want something?” she asked as she looked him up and down. He was tall and lean. Not terrible bad looking, his nose was a bit big and his eyes a little small.

He moved to her right side as she turned left down the street. “I just wanted to talk, get to know my neighbors and such. You are certainly the prettiest of the lot. And I believe, and do correct me if I’m wrong, you are the most single as well.” He smirked as she looked at him in surprise.

“You, sir, are very forward. And I don’t believe that is any of your business.”

“It may not be, but I am certainly willing to push the limit and make it my business.” He winked at her.

She laughed at him. She couldn’t believe he was being so ridiculous. How could he be so nonchalant about blatantly hitting on her while she was going to run errands. He must have one of those terrible little timers that tied him to some person he was supposed to fall in love with the moment they met. She wasn’t even dressed nice. Her curls were pulled back in a messy fashion and she had on a t-shirt and jeans with her ratty sneakers.

He followed her all the way to the store. She thought maybe once she was there and was actually busy he would go about his business and stay out of hers. She walked in the door and grabbed a basket and looked down at her list. When she looked up again there he was, right beside her, basket in hand.

She stared as a triumphant smirk spread across his face. “I need a few things. Mind if I join you?”

“Yes, I do.” She walked away from him towards the produce section. She wanted apples, and some grapes and maybe some bananas. She began looking at the different types of apples and there he was beside her, pretending to study the variety of apples when he was obviously studying her. “What are you doing?” She demanded, stomping her foot for emphasis.

“I’m shopping, what does it look like?” He answered innocently.

“Looks more like harassment to me.” She sneered back. She grabbed her bag of apples and moved to grab white grapes. When she walked around to grab some bananas he blocked her path. “You know, if I yelled loud enough I could probably get you banned from this market,” she whispered.

“Why would you do that beautiful? I honestly just want to talk.” He sounded sincere, but Alex really wasn’t in the mood to trust the random guy next door.

“I would do that because I don’t appreciate being bothered while I’m busy. So you better start talking.” She grabbed the bananas over his arm, that’s when he noticed she didn’t have a mark.

He was awestruck. Alex took the opportunity to turn and walk away not caring why he was suddenly so speechless. “You are like me.” He breathed.

She stopped in her tracks and turned around, “What?”

“You are like me.” He held up his left arm exposing his unmarked wrist. “You don’t have a mark either.” She stared at him. In her twenty five years of life she had never met another person who was like her. She thought she was just a freak who didn’t have a soul mate. She blinked at him, not sure what to say.

“Are you sure we can’t get to know each other better Alex?” He asked.

She nodded, “Actually I think we can.”


	4. When It's Least Expected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never intended to write this part of the story, it just sorta came out.   
> Thank you for your kind comments so far. I am so glad this is being enjoyed cause I honestly didn't think anyone would understand it.  
> I love all of you *big squished group hug*

“Are you two coming or am I going to the movie alone?” Laura shouted up the stairs. She shook her head. Those boys are still as bloody annoying as they day they began to talk. She loved her little brother and his best friend dearly, but they knew exactly how to make her want to knock their heads together. She stood near the door and waited. She could hear them moving about upstairs and hoping that was them putting on decent clothes. “I am about to leave boys, I don’t want to miss anything!” She called and opened the door. She knew that was the push they needed. They came running out of Matt’s room and around the corner to the stairs. Matt, of course, was a clumsy oaf and tripped on the first step. He flailed to catch his balance and caught Arthur’s shirt. Laura laughed as both boys came rolling down the flight of stairs.

"Oi! Laura it’s not funny. We could be seriously hurt.” Matt glowered at her and he and Arthur detangled themselves.

“But, you aren’t are you? C’mon boys or I won’t have time to get you popcorn.” She smiled and turned away from them and walked to her car. She unlocked the doors and watched the boys run down the driveway.

“Thanks for taking us Lor.” Arthur smiled at her. He was always so much nicer than her brother. He actually appreciated her efforts to include them in things. She would be leaving for college in a couple months and she wanted to make sure their holiday from school was full of fun times with her. She tried to convince herself she was doing it so they wouldn’t miss her as much, but everyone knew she was actually trying to soften the separation for herself. She loved her idiots so much, even when she wanted to choke them.

“You’re welcome Darvill. Just try to keep Matt from breaking his neck today for me. I don’t have the energy to watch him constantly today.” She winked at him in the mirror.

“Sure thing,” He smiled back.

Then Matt smacked him on the head. “Ye of little faith. I’ll have you know I haven’t seriously injured myself once this year.” He smiled triumphantly.

“Yeah but you still have another six months left. There is still plenty of time.” Laura said as she back out of the drive and turned right down the street.

Matt stuck his tongue out at her and Arthur laughed. “She’s got a point Matt. Be careful what you say. When she leaves it’s my job to keep you alive and I honestly don’t want to know what she’ll do if I fail because you challenged fate to a duel.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to put you friend in the ground with you.” She was trying to sound serious, but honestly she knew she would never hold Arthur responsible for Matt being clumsy and possible falling in front of a bus. She didn’t know why, but that’s always the image that came to mind when she thought of her brother actually getting seriously hurt because he was a klutz.

“I am not going to get hurt this summer. It isn’t happening, no broken bones, no stitches, nothing more than some bruises.”

“You’re only allowing the bruises because you just fell down stairs.” Laura deadpanned. Her brother the drama queen.

When they pulled in the parking lot of the theater the boys jumped out of the car, telling Laura to hurry up while she shoved her keys in her bag. “Don’t you dare rush me, it’s your faults we didn’t get here earlier not mine.” She pointed an accusing finger at them.

They hung their heads knowing she was right, and she began to laugh. She put her arms around them both and began walking up to the ticket window. Arthur was under her left arm. She looked at her wrist. It always changed and knowing she didn’t pay it any mind he didn’t really say anything noticing it said fifteen minutes. He thought usually only went down to days not minutes.

They bought the tickets and walked inside. “Ok boys, I’m getting a large drink and medium popcorn for us to share. Do you want anything else? Speak now or you won’t get it.” She handed them their tickets. The shook their heads after a moment of thought. “Ok then, go get us good seats.”

The line for the concession was longer than she would have liked and she was betting she’d miss all the previews. Those silly boys always waiting until the last moment before getting ready. She couldn’t really be mad though, they were only fifteen and she knew they would learn eventually.

She stood there studying her shoes as the line moved much slower than she wanted to deal with. She couldn’t believe she would be leaving for college soon. She was taking most of her things and just going, to live in a different place with people she doesn’t know. She was leaving her parents and her brother and her friends. That’s why she had vowed to make this the best summer ever, for everyone. She had made plans with the boys so every Saturday they were doing something different. Last weekend was the zoo, the weekend before that the beach, this weekend movies, and next weekend the theme park.

She kept her camera in her bag or pocket at all times. She took pictures of everything, whether they were just sitting and talking or going on an adventure. She wanted pictures to put on her cork board in her room when she left. She wanted to see their faces, even if they weren’t with her.

When she finally got to the register and got the snacks she was having to rush to the theater. She looked down at her watch and noticed her timer instead. She hadn’t even looked at it that morning knowing it was the most unreliable thing in her life. Right then she saw that it was going down from five seconds. She was so confused it had never been that low in her life. She looked up to make sure she didn’t miss the door then looked back down at it. It was two, then one, then she looked up and saw a boy standing right in front of her blocking the door. He was holding his arm up like she was.

He looked at her curiously, “Did you just go to zero?” Laura nodded staring at him in shock. “Are you ok?” he asked.

She shook her head, trying to find the words to explain what had happened, but she could seem to think of anything. She could hear the movie started and she looked pasted him.

"Oh, you probably want to get to your seat.” He moved to let her pass.

She looked him up and down. He was tall and muscled. He probably played sports and worked out. His hair was raven black and his eyes crystal blue. His voice was deep, but soft. He smiled and showed his perfect teeth.

“Ok, I can do that.” He took the popcorn from her hand and walked with her to Matt and Arthur.

When Matt saw his sister walking with a random guy he was confused. He poked Arthur and pointed in the direction of her coming up the stairs. Arthur smiled and laughed, “It did happen.”

“What happened? Why are you laughing?” Matt was so confused, but also quite ready to hit the guy if he was harassing his sister.

"When we were walking in I noticed Laura’s mark was at fifteen minutes. It never gets that low. So I am willing to wager those two went to zero as they bumped into each other on the way in the theater,” He smirked.

Matt punched his arm, “You could have told me jerk, she is my sister.”

“Well, she’s mine too, for all intents and purposes.” Arthur whispered as the room got dark and Laura and the mystery boy made their way down the row.

She waved when she sat down and put the soda and popcorn in between her and Matt. Matt looked at her and then looked over her at the bot by her side. He leaned close to ear and whispered, “D’you get to zero?” She nodded. “Who is he?”

“His name is Robert. He is a year younger than me and lives two streets behind us.” She looked Matt in eyes, and even in the faint light he could see all the new worries she had. He knew how difficult it was becoming for her to realize she was leaving and now this was someone else, someone important, that she just met, that she would leave. Matt had no doubt he would be seeing Robert everyday for the rest of the summer. He nodded to her and sat back in his seat.

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

When the movie had ended Matt looked at Arthur and rolled his eyes, “I think we’ll be here a while. Want to play pinball?” He said, mostly to annoy Laura, but also he wanted her to be able to talk to this Robert fellow and let him know about her leaving.

Laura stuck out her tongue and, knowing they both had a few dollars on them, handed them a couple extra dollars in case. She watched them walk away from them then stood up and collected their trash. “So Robert, you have one more year of school?”

“Yeah, Then I’ll be done for a couple months. Then I’ll be going off to college.” He took the trash from her and put it in the bin when they walked past. “So you’ll be leaving at the end of the summer?”

She nodded and bit her lip, looking away from him. She didn’t want to leave so soon after she had found him.

“You don’t have to worry about it, I’ve been waiting to meet you for a very long time. You’re beautiful and so sweet to your brothers,” He looked up to where the boys were playing pinball, “You seem wonderful, and I want to get to know you as well as I can before you have leave.”

She smiled at him, “I want to get to know you too. I just I didn’t expect to meet you today….or ever really.” She stared at her black flats. She knew she had to tell him.

“What do you mean? You had the count down, it’s not like you didn’t know it would happen today.” He looked at her really confused.

She took a deep breathe, “Up until today, well actually up until I realized I had five seconds left, I didn’t know at all. My mark was…, defective, for lack of a better word. It was wonky, always changing drastically from day to day. It went up and down all the time. I didn’t know because it was never accurate. I actually thought I would have time to finish my school, or at least I had hoped. I am already having such a hard time leaving them,” she pointed at the boys, “and now here you are, and we are meant to be, I mean you are exactly how I always imagined you, and I have to leave in a month and a half.” She started digging in her bag.

“Wow that is crazy. I’ve never heard of that before. I know this is going to be really hard for you, I understand, but I hope I can make it better. Now that I’ve found you I don’t want to let you go. You obviously love your brothers very much and I wouldn’t want to leave my sister behind either. I’m sorry this happened, but let’s make the best of it.” He reached out and took her empty hand, her camera in the other one. He smiled at her and her heart swelled, it was too late for her, she couldn’t just get rid of him now.

“Ok, we can do that,” She held up her camera and took a picture then went to where the boys were and began taking pictures of them. They watched them play for a few minutes then Matt stopped and looked Robert in the eye.

“I’m her brother Matt,” was all he said and shook his hand and then Arthur did the same, also introducing himself as her brother.

Robert called his mom and told her the good news, then told her he would be with Laura for the night. Laura didn’t know how to feel, she was happy but also terribly upset. He was another person for her to miss.

When they got home Robert was surprised when Arthur went to the house next door, but he didn’t ask any questions and Matt found it hilarious. They introduced Robert to their parents and Matt listened as Laura described the events of the day. He could tell she was fighting herself in her head. She wanted to be happy, but she was still terribly sad.


	5. Roary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just basically filler because I felt I needed more Karen than I had originally planned, but I had hard time getting it written to my liking. That plus some other unrelated issues arose, so I'm sorry I made you wait so long and I'm sorry if this is a horrible chapter.  
> Thank you for all your support and kind words, I love you all so much and I hope you still love this story as much as I do.

Karen was a very smart girl, always making perfect grades. She was also very opinionated and unafraid. She was never scared to tell someone they were wrong or tell them her opinion on anything. She didn’t have many friends because of this, they were all intimidated by her strong personality and intelligence.

She loved being outside and interacting with nature. She wasn’t scared of the animals like the others girls. She caught lizards and frogs and watched the birds. One day she caught a small brown lizard that had been sitting on a rock. She sat against a tree and held it as it moved between her hands. She stared up at the sky as thunder cracked. “I should probably go home, mum won’t want me inside if I’m drenched.” She looked down at the lizard, “you’re very friendly, maybe they will let me keep you.” She stood up and began the walk back to her home. “You are the first friend I’ve made in a long while little lizard. The other kids at school don’t like me very much. I’m too smart and I’m not afraid to tell them they’re stupid when they don’t even remember the things we learned in class.”

She held her friend close to her body as the wind blew and the clouds overhead grew darker. “It’ll be ok little guy I have a cage I can put you in and I can go to the store and get you some reptile food. You’ll be my pet. At least I know you won’t judge me. The other girls would freak out and run from you, but not me. I’m different from them. I’m smarter and braver and I don’t want this timer to end with me finding a stupid prince. I want a warrior.”

She looked down at her new little friend and he was looking at her, as though he was listening intently. She smiled at him. “You need a proper name. I can’t just call you lizard can I?” It tilted its head at her as if it was anticipating her decision on a name. She looked up at the trees above as the rain began to fall. She liked the feel of it on her skin. “You know, I think I’ll call you Roary, you know like the roar of a lion or a dragon. It sounds tough.” In response, her new little friend crawled up her arm and sat on her shoulder.

She didn’t make it home before she was soaked to the bone by the rain. Her mother scolded her and her father laughed. “But I caught myself a new pet!” She held up Roary to show them as her mother helped her out of her sodden jacket.

"Just what you need, another animal,” Her mother rolled her eyes as she pushed her towards her room, “Take off those wet clothes and bring them to me, I’ll get you a hot bath running.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” she sighed as she walked in her room. Her wet clothes dripped on her rug as she grabbed the empty plastic animal carrier, that she had put dirty and grass in the bottom of long ago. This was not the first animal she had attempted to keep as a pet. She slipped Roary in his new home and smiled. “There you go little guy.” Then she got out of her wet clothes and into a steaming tub.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 

When she was a few years older, she was still the most intelligent and outspoken girl in her class, but she had lost some of her tomboyish charm. She liked her makeup and her dresses, but not just because she liked to be feminine, but also because she was underestimated when she was dressed this way. She liked when her intelligence and smart mouth were a surprise to the people around her.

Roary had died not long before her fifteenth birthday and that had hurt her bad. He had lived a long, and somewhat unexpected, four years of life. She had buried him in her mother’s flower bed and left a little brown rock as marker.

She doodled him on the corners of her papers in her history class when she took her notes. She loved history, she loved knowing how things came to be. She especially like the Roman Invasion. The Centurions. While all the girls she knew still wanted to be rescued by their prince or knight in shining armor. She didn’t want that, some retard in tinfoil wasn’t going to make her happy.

She wanted a Centurion. She wanted a strong warrior to come and challenge her. Challenge the way she thinks, to love her for her intelligence and not how well she did her make up. She wanted someone who wouldn’t want to do crazy stuff all the time, someone that would be fine with sitting and reading or watching a movie. Someone who liked to just exist every once in a while, but would still protect her fiercely.


	6. Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this is better than the last chapter. I know I'm at a sort of slow point, but everything will pick up shortly.  
> As always tell me what you think. I know the last couple of chapters have been kinda crappy. I love whenever you guys comment <3

After that first meeting Alex spent a lot of time with Ralph. It started as lunch here and there and talking about their childhoods. They bonded greatly over their bare wrists. Alex had explained how the children ridiculed her every day at school. Ralph told her how he wore a watch that covered the place where the mark should be. “I was clever. No one saw it and whenever the subject came up I could change it before they thought to ask me,” he laughed.

When they had finally started talking about their lives as adults, they learned they like much of the same things. The occasional lunch changed to lunch every day. Ralph worked as a newspaper editor and would take his lunch at the same time Alex would be getting done with her morning classes. They would meet at the same little diner every day, they would sit in the booth and they would always order the same food.

Then lunch everyday led to dates every Friday night. Ralph was a charmer for sure. He bought her nice dresses to wear and new perfume. He spoiled her endlessly, and he showed her off. She quickly fell in love with the attention he gave her.

After a year, half of her clothes were next door in his closet and they never slept alone. He was a wonderful lover, but one of the most demanding she had ever had. He liked control and he liked it rough, and that was fun, but only for so long. She never said anything though, she didn’t want to lose the only person she had ever truly loved.

Alex was happy with Ralph for two years then they had their first real fight. “Ralph, darling, what do you want to do tonight?” Alex called from the couch one night, she wanted to have a night in, watch a movie and cuddle maybe. As she mentally went down the list of DVDs in her apartment, he came out from the bathroom.

He had this look, and it was one Alex had begun to get quite tired of. His eyes looked at her with pure lust. He raked them down her body, and even with her jumper and leggings on it made her feel naked and vulnerable. “I think I want to get you out of those clothes.” He growled and he fell to the space beside her on the couch. His hands snaked up her body and his lips found her neck.

She pushed against him, “No Ralph, not tonight. I want to watch a movie or play a board game.” She pleaded with her eyes, but she could see the resolve within his. He wanted what he wanted and she would never convince him otherwise. She didn’t always want is rough and crazy version of a sex life, she wanted sweet and gentle sometimes, and honestly she wanted him to put her pleasure before his, but that didn’t happen.

“Alex, babe, c’mon you know you want to. You love it so much.” He grasp her breast in a rough fashion through her clothes.

“Ralph, really, I don’t feel like it tonight. Please stop.” She pushed away harder and got up when he lifted his weight from her. She knew he was short tempered and could tell she had upset him.

“Alex why are you always like this. We never do what I want to do, if you don’t want to then it’s a no and I just have to deal, but you never take one for me. I want to fuck you so let’s fuck.” He didn’t get off the couch but he looked at her with pure anger on his face.

“I really don’t want to, I’m sorry but fussing about it won’t change anything.” She stood her ground with him. They had never really argued about this before, she didn’t think he would actually try to force her to do anything.

“You always have to be such a bitch. It’s always about you, you have to be so selfish all the time.” He yelled.

She tried not to cringe, she really didn’t want to make him angry. She stood there and stared at him for a long time. She went over in her head what was the worst of two evils. She finally decide to give in. She walked over and kissed him hard. He grabbed her roughly and picked her up. He carried her to the bedroom and threw her down. He ripped her leggings and didn’t even bother with her shirt. He wasn’t doing it for them, she realized, he was doing it for him. It hurt her, but she didn’t say anything, she knew it wouldn’t last long. When he was done, he didn’t stay like he usually did. He kissed her hard and left without a word. That night she cried.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

They never argued unless it was about sex. Ralph was just plain insatiable. Alex dealt with it the best she could though, not wanting to lose the only chance she had at a happy ending. They stayed together for another year, and then another.

One night Ralph had bought her a new dress and told her to wear that night because they were going to a new restaurant that was very high end. She held it up and examined it. It was black, floor length, and strapless. It was a shiny material with folds in the skirt. She put it on studied herself in the mirror. It fit her just right, hugging her curves perfectly, she had to admit the man had wonderful taste when it came to her wardrobe.

She put on her favorite perfume and her black, strappy heels. She stared at herself in her mirror. She knew Ralph loved her and she loved him, but she had never figured out if she was truly happy with him. He could be so dramatic and his temper was terrible, but he treated her like a queen otherwise. She just didn’t know if she would find anyone else, but she didn’t think that meant she should settle either, but was being with Ralph truly settling? She was giving herself a headache. She didn’t know what she wanted.

When she walked down to his car he kissed her cheek, hugged her tight and opened the car door for her. They say in silence all the way to dinner. When they arrive Alex was in awe. The restaurant wasn’t just a new, expensive place, it was the new French restaurant where the politicians and celebrities went. Alex couldn’t imagine how much trouble Ralph had to go through to even get a reservation.

They were seated at a table in the middle of the biggest dining room. Ralph pulled her chair out for her and let her sit. She looked down at her hands as he seated himself and ordered a bottle of some wine she couldn’t pronounce. Why had he wanted to come here? He hadn’t said anything to her since he told her to get dressed. She couldn’t put her finger on it but something just felt wrong.

They went through the entire dinner with barely a word spoken. He told her she looked gorgeous and she had blushed and thanked him. They didn’t talk about their meals, or the wine, or their day. Alex was worried maybe this was the last dinner they would have together. She stared at her empty plate and took a deep breathe. Then Ralph stood up.

“What are you doing?” she whispered. He looked down at her and smiled. It was the sweetest smile she had ever seen grace the man’s face. Then he got down on one knee and she covered her mouth.

“Alexandra, will you marry me?” She couldn’t breathe. He was really doing this, he loved her enough to marry her. She would have a happy ending after all. She nodded, unable to speak around the lump in her throat. He pulled a beautiful diamond ring out of his pocket and slipped in on her left hand. She stared at it for a long time, and tears rolled down her face.


	7. Holiday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay!!! A longer (and much better written) chapter!!! Again, this I so much more Laura than I had ever planned, but I really have fallen in love with writing her parts of the story. I hope you guys enjoy and feel free to comment and leave kudos, I love it when you do.

Laura had gone off to college in tears. She spent the first two weeks just in her room or in class, she didn’t talk to anyone, she didn’t eat her meals with anyone, she didn’t want to interact with anyone. She missed her boys so much. She called Matt every night. When they were done she’d call Arthur, if by some weird chance he hadn’t been with Matt, then she would call Robert.

Robert had been wonderful in the short time they had had together. He had taken her on dates and was included in the plans she had made for the other two. He had taken pictures for her and with her. He help her organize and pack her stuff. He had sat with her and held her when she cried the night before she left, after her room had become bare enough to no longer feel like home.

“It’s ok Laura. It will be fine. You’ll make friends and start classes and before you know it you’ll be back here for Christmas.” He had said, but sitting in her room staring at all the pictures on her wall, it felt like a life time away. She fell asleep clutching the bear Matt had slipped in her things before she left. It had a little note attached that said:

_Laura Jayne,_

_I’m here for those times when you feel alone. For the days when you just need a hug and the nights when you need cuddles. I am a companion for you to love when it seems all is lost._

_From your Boys._

After those first few weeks of self-pity she realized the boys had been right. She had made friends and been so engrossed in her classes that when Christmas had rolled around, she hadn’t even seen it coming. When she made her way home, she found her boys weren’t even there waiting on her. She pouted as she walked through the door. She knew they were out on holiday and they should be home, but no one was waiting to greet her. She called out but there was no answer. She knew her parents were at work. She carried her bag upstairs to her room. She opened the door and dropped the bag inside. When she looked up to assess the possible damage that had been inflicted in her absence she found three napping boys.

They had been waiting for her, they just happened to take their mid-day nap right as she arrived home. She smiled and pulled her camera from her pocket. Matt and Arthur were sleeping in her bed, a tangle of arms and legs, and wonderful Robert was snoring in her window seat. She took a couple pictures of them and then left them to their dreams. She went down stairs to entertain herself.

She made herself lunch and turned on the TV. She had missed the smell of her home, the smell you never notice until you come back from being away for months. She had missed the feeling of their overstuffed couch and how she always hated how fluffy it was until today. She looked around their living room, nothing had changed, though she didn’t know why she expected it would. All the pictures on the walls were the same ones that had always been there. The ones of her and Matt as children. Some of them included Arthur. She smiled at the pictures from Halloweens and Christmases past.

She found her favorite throw hanging on the side of the settee where she had left it. She smiled and wrapped it around her shoulders. She had missed having it and decided she wasn’t leaving it behind again. She laid on the couch and only half paid attention to what was on the television. She was so happy to be home, so happy to see the snow covering the ground outside, so happy to know her boys had been waiting. She smiled as her eyes slid shut, she was so tired.

            The key turning in the lock of the front door woke her up. Her parents walked in a hugged her neck. She told them how much she had missed them and how much fun she had been having at school. She talked to them for half an hour, before the silence of the house caused them to realize the boys had not shown their faces.

“I’ll go find them, when I got home they were all napping in my room.” Laura went upstairs quietly and got to her door. She smiled to herself as she slowly opened the door. They were all still exactly where she had left them. She assumed they had had an eventful holiday so far if they had slept this long. She looked around trying to decide the best way to wake them. Turning on the light wasn’t enough of a surprise. She laughed quietly to herself as she ran and launched herself screaming at the bed. She landed directly on top of the boys and yanked the pillows out from under their heads. She then threw the pillows at Robert, all the while yelling about how she was home and they better have missed her.

As they woke Matt and Arthur grabbed Laura and flipped onto the floor where they laid on top of her. “You evil girl!!!!” They yelled as Robert just laughed from his perch by the window.

“Laura when did you get home?” He asked, “Because we have been a sleep for three hours.” He looked down at his watch in shock.

“Only about an hour,” she said from under her brother, “will you freaks get off?”

Arthur was the first to move, Matt having more fun making Laura fight for freedom.

Matt had missed his sister so much. It was strange to wake up every day and not hear her singing while she did her hair and makeup, to not have her throwing things at him simply so she could laugh when he dropped them, to not have her there to take pictures at the worst times. When he did let her up he hugged her tight.

Matt had expect his sister to spend all her free time with Robert over the holiday. He had only half a year before he would be attending college with her and Matt thought she would educate him about the things that he needed to know to make the transition easier. She did spend every moment she could with Robert, but she never thought to abandon Arthur and Matt either. All four where together every day. They built snowmen, went ice skating, watched Christmas movies and drank hot chocolate, they were never apart for more than a night.

Laura took one night a week for just her and Robert, Matt of course didn’t mind that. They were sweet as honey at the very least and he was happy to give them the space to be a couple.

Laura loved Robert. She really hadn’t known she could be this happy with someone. “Robert. What did you think when you first saw me?” She asked one night.

“I thought ‘wow, she’s beautiful…. Why does she looked so surprised?’” He replied with a chuckle.

She laughed too, “I was in shock. I hadn’t been prepared to meet my soul mate that day. Stupid mark.” She stared at her wrist where the numbers had all fallen to zero.

“You know, I did some research on your mark. Having a mark like yours is even rarer than not having one at all. From what I read only one in every two thousand people have a mark like yours.”

“Really? Did you happen to find out what causes it?” He had peaked her curiosity greatly.

“Scientist aren’t quite sure. They found that a little over one percent of the human population have no mark due to a genetic mutation, but they haven’t found anything that hints at a genetic mutation causing your problem.”

“Oh,” She would have liked to know what was wrong with her, “well I guess being unique is good enough for me. Especially since I have you now anyway.” She beamed at him.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Laura went back to college too soon for anyone’s liking. It wasn’t long before she was back for summer holiday though. They did everything they could do in those few months. And then, when she had to leave again, only this time Robert accompanied her. Matt and Arthur were fine with being by themselves during the school year, they did what they usually did just without the other two. At the end of the next summer Arthur left with Laura and Robert to attend college. Matt called him a jerk because they were technically the same age, but Arthur had been ahead in school.

So Matt spent a year alone. He spent a lot of time thinking. His mind often wandered to who his soul mate would be. He was just eighteen, he had twelve more years to wait to see her, but he never stopped thinking about her. He wondered how old she would be, if her hair was straight or curly. He would dream about her, but never in great detail. She had jade green eyes he knew, that one detail never changed. He loved her already and he didn’t even know her.

The next year he accompanied the others to college. That’s where life had begun.


	8. The Redhhead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) I am so sorry I haven't posted anything. I have had some crazy stuff going on personally and it has gotten very much in the way.  
> 2) I also didn't quite like how the story had kinda changed from what I had originally planned, but I'm dealing with it.  
> 3) I hope this makes up for having to wait so long, even if it is just a little bit.   
> 4) I love you all and I am so sorry for the wait

Alex cried hard as Ralph began packing his things. “Alex, darling, we just made a mistake. We aren’t meant to be together, I’m sorry.” He sounded dead, like he felt nothing at all.

 She threw their famed wedding picture at him. “You still lied to me! You have been with her for months and lied! I thought you loved me!” She yelled, but her voice broke and she dissolved into tears on the bed.

He looked at her with pity, “Alex it isn’t my fault. I couldn’t control this and I am sorry.” He got all his clothes in suitcases and some boxes. He looked around as Alex screamed.

“I HATE YOU!!!!” She bawled. He moved boxes and cases one at a time, to his car outside. He was drawing it out to torture her. She knew his mistress was in the car, waiting. She wanted to go down there and beat her. She wanted her to feel this pain, she wanted Ralph to feel it too, but she couldn’t move.

As he came back for the last suitcase, she got up. She straightened her clothes, dried her eyes, and walked him to the door. She held the door as he made his way out and when he turned around she slammed it in his face.

She pressed her back to the door and tried to not cry. She slid down and let her head fall in her hands. How had she been so stupid and trusted him?

She didn’t cry again until their divorce went through. After that she tried to forget and move on with her life. She did neither, instead going numb to everything. All she did was work and then go home every day. She didn’t talk to her friends anymore and she never went out. She didn’t want to be reminded of him in anyway, so she avoided everything.

For years she stayed that way, until one day she came home to find someone had finally began moving into what had been his flat. Alex didn’t bother to see who and just walked around the boxes and into her own flat.

She set her purse down and began making a small meal that could hardly be considered supper. She had just sat down to eat when there was a knock on the door. She got up and opened the door to find a tall, slim girl with straight, auburn hair.

“Hello, I’m sorry to bother you. I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Karen.” She smiled big, showing her perfect, white teeth. Alex just looked at her for a moment. This young girl had all the time in the world and was truly happy. Alex could see her mark ticking away. She had someone waiting for her. She would make someone very happy one day.

Alex smiled weakly at the perky young lady, “Nice to meet you Karen, I’m Alex. You’re my new neighbor, I assume.”

“Sure am, but I’ll leave you alone now. Have a nice evening.” Karen waved and turned back to all her boxes as Alex closed her door.  

Alex went back to her routine. She ate, watch telly, then showered and went to bed.

Every once in a while Karen would knock on her door. Sometimes asking for directions to a particular store, other times asking a good place to eat. One day the knock on her door was frantic and loud. Alex moved quickly to answer to a teary eyed Karen. She was holding her left hand to her chest with a dish towel wrapped around it. Alex could see the red already seeping through.

“Karen, honey, what did you do?” She asked as she pulled her into the flat and right the kitchen.

“I was trying to make dinner and I was slicing carrots. I dropped the knife. I tried to catch it but it stabbed me in the hand. I didn’t know what to do. So I came to you.” Her voice was watery and she seemed so much younger to Alex in that moment. She was truly just a child learning to be an adult.

“Ok darling. Let me unwrap your hand and clean it. We need to make sure you don’t need stitches.” She soothed. Karen nodded and closed her eyes. Alex held her hand over the sink and slowly pulled the stained towel away. Alex grimaced at the wound on the girl’s hand. It looked more like she sliced her hand than she accidently stabbed herself. The bleeding had subsided some and it didn’t look deep enough to need stitches. She turned on the water, wetting a clean dish towel, and adding just a bit of soap. “Karen, dear, it doesn’t look like you’ll need stitches, but I’m going to clean it and it’ll sting a bit.”

Karen nodded and put on her brave face. She had hurt herself many times as a child, but this seemed so much worse. She was responsible for herself now and it scared her. When the warm towel touched her skin it felt ok, then it began to sting. She gritted her teeth as Alex gentle wiped away excess blood and bodily fluids.

Alex tried to be gentle with the wound. She looked more at the little timer below the girl’s hand. She would find him in two years’ time. Just two years. Alex then looked to her own bare wrist and knew she would never have that. It had been years since Ralph and it still hurt her every day.

She shook the thought from her head and reached up to get the first aid it from the cabinet. She pulled out Neosporin and a bit of gauze and medical tape. She wrapped up Karen’s hand and then looked at her. “How does that feel?”

Karen inspected Alex’s doctoring. “It feel better now. Thank you.” Karen sighed in relief. “I’m sorry, I know I must have scared you to death.”

“Nonsense, I will always be here to help you. I’m glad you weren’t hurt worse.” Alex smiled at her.

“Thank you again. I’ll leave you alone now.” Karen smiled and gave her a hug. At first Alex hadn’t known what to do, then she wrapped her arms around the young woman and embraced her tightly.

“If you ever need anything else don’t hesitate to ask me, ok Karen?” She said as she let her go.

“Of course.” Then she was out the door.

Alex smiled to herself as she sat on her couch. She had a feeling that redhead would be back many  more times in the future.


	9. Curiosity Killed The Cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this is good even though it is short.  
> I know I've made you guys wait around a lot on this fic, and I am so sorry. It is coming to and end in a few more chapters though. I will try to get them up quickly but today was the first day of fall classes, so that will get in the way a bit.   
> But anyway, enjoy and comment and leave kudos and all that fun stuff  
> I <3 all of you

Karen had grown quite attached to her neighbor in that year. Alex was like the big sister she never had. Ever since that afternoon when she had knocked, bleeding, at Alex’s door, Karen had tried to see her, bother her, ask her to go out to shop as often as possible. Alex usually declined the outings, not that she would ever give Karen a legitimate reason as to why, but the nights they stayed in, drank wine, and watched sappy movies Karen got to know Alex better. She had always wanted to ask about the woman’s bare wrist, but always felt it wasn’t her place, that they weren’t quite familiar enough. Then one night, over homemade Italian and red wine, Karen’s curiosity got the best of her.

“Alex, can I ask you something personal?” Karen began timidly.

Alex looked up at her confused, she had never seen the girl so bashful before. Alex knew what she was going to ask, everyone did eventually if they noticed. “Yes dear, of course.”

“Well I was wondering about your mark….. well, lack of a mark. Have you always been like that?” Karen looked down. She felt weird asking, but she been so curious. She had noticed it months before and, like the cat, the curiosity killed her. She hoped desperately that Alex wouldn’t be upset by her asking.

Of course, that was the thing about Alex. Karen had never cared if someone was offended by her curiosity. She never stopped to think before asking questions because she wanted to learn new things. Alex was someone she did worry about hurting. Alex had seemed so unfeeling anytime she had asked her for directions before the day she had hurt herself. When Alex had seen her, it was like the outer shell melted. Karen had saw the walls she had built for whatever reason crumble as she doctored her hand. For whatever reason Alex had suddenly become the warm person that Karen knew was really her. She had found a sweet, loving Alex. She wanted to keep this Alex, because she made her feel safe and at home.

“Well, dear, I have never had a mark.” She said quietly as she stood up and cleared the table. Karen followed her into the kitchen.

“So you have never thought you had a soul mate?” Karen whispered

Alex froze in front of the sink. Karen immediately regretted the question. She stood to the side staring at her feet. Maybe that was the reason she had those walls.

Alex sighed and looked up at the ceiling, trying to decide where to begin or if she even could.

“I did once, for a while, but that was a mistake,” She breathed, “A very big mistake.” She turned to Karen and shook her head, “but you don’t want to hear about that. It is quite boring.”

Karen could see the sadness hiding behind her smile. Someone had hurt her terribly. “Alex, what happened?” She looked at her with concern.

Alex looked at the young girl before. She knew it was time to explain, to explain why she never wanted to go into Karen’s flat, why she would walk a little farther rather than go back to the closer grocer, why she never wanted to go out.

“When I was younger and had been living here a few years, the man that used to live in your flat followed me to the store. He was handsome and charming. He didn’t have a mark either. We were both in awe, we had never known anyone was like us. We saw each other more and more frequently until we practically lived together. Now that I think about it, it wasn’t ever truly love, it was desperation. I never thought I would find anyone else and he loved me, or I thought he had.” Alex walked back to the table and sat down, pour them both more wine. She looked grief stricken and Karen worried she had asked too much of her. “He was wonderful really, until he was mad. He was a sex addict to be plain about it. When I told him no he’d guilt me into it. Then he’d apologize and make it up to me. I wasn’t going to have anyone else so I stayed. I was stupid. We got married. He got worse. Things were always getting thrown or broken. He threw temper tantrums like a child, but they were much more violent.”

Karen stared, eyes as big as the moon. Poor Alex. “Alex did he hurt you?” She could only manage a whisper. She was shocked by what she was hearing, but it made everything else make sense. She simply wanted to hug away the pain, to help Alex, like Alex had always helped her.

“Oh no, he knew better than that. He was never physical with me, he liked to hurt me mentally. Sadly even then I loved him all the same. He eventually started staying away from home more. I naively thought it was his work, because he did work hard, but he was just out with friends while I was here. After being married for three years, he came home one night and told me he was leaving. He said he wasn’t meant to be with me and he had found his true soul mate. I hadn’t believed him at first, but then be started packing his things. He told me he had met her on one of his business trips a few months before. When she had bumped into him as he was leaving the airport her mark went to zero. Ralph had no idea what to do because he was markless. He looked her in the face and fell in love, real true love, not the love he had with me. She came back with him, stayed in his old apartment even, and I never knew. It went on for six months prior to him leaving me and I had never even noticed. Maybe if he would have just told me I would have understood, but he lied and pretended. I threw things at him and yelled as he packed his things. I hated him, and I still do, but not for the same reasons I guess. He found his true love and I’m still here waiting. The little weasel got what he wanted and I still have no one.”

Alex looked down and wiped a tear from her eye. She had never admitted that to anyone. It felt freeing to have someone else just how unloved she felt. Karen silently stood and then took Alex’s hand. She pulled her to her feet and then into a hug.

“Oh you poor, sweet girl. You are wonderful and there is someone out there who has been waiting for you, whose clock is ticking down the seconds until you knock him off his feet. One day you will just be there in front of him and he will believe you are a goddess. You deserve that much more than anyone.” Karen continue to hold her in the middle of the dining room. Alex smiled at the kind words, but she hardly believed them. There was no one waiting for her because she was not worth waiting for.


	10. Dreams and Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are so close to them meeting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
> Thank you for all the support and love and I hope I haven't disappointed anyone.  
> I love all of you so much!!!!  
> ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!

Matt was laying in his room in his and Arthur’s flat staring at the ceiling. After such a long day he didn’t know what to do. He was so tired but he just couldn’t sleep. He and Arthur had been groomsmen in Laura and Robert’s wedding that morning and after all the excitement and work he put into it, he was exhausted, but even then he couldn’t make his brain stop. He kept having these dreams. Dreams of a woman with golden curls and piercing green eyes. Every night she was there, the location always changed but the feelings didn’t. She had to be the one he has been waiting thirty years for. He had a week left, and then the mystery would be solved. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to actually meet her and he really just hoped he wouldn’t embarrass himself. He could feel the love he already had for her and he didn’t know her.

He sat up in bed, he didn’t know her. What if he didn’t like her after all this waiting? Or worse, what if she didn’t like him? What if she couldn’t deal with him always breaking things and hurting himself? He hadn’t even thought about that, but she was his soul mate, so wouldn’t she look past all of it?

He laid back down, knowing his exhaustion had him overthinking things again. Arthur had spent days reassuring him that no matter who she was she was going to love him. They were perfect for each other. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing. He needed to sleep. When he finally let himself sleep, he saw green eyes smiling at him.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

A week later Arthur was driving them both insane. He kept combing his hair, and changing shirts, and being a girl in Matt’s opinion. Matt was sitting on the couch waiting. He didn’t even know where they were going to meet them. He had always been told it was a feeling. You simply felt drawn to a place and then it happened. Matt, getting impatient, yelled, “Arthur calm down!”

Arthur stopped midstride and looked at him, “What?”

“You are driving me crazy running back and forth like that. Sit down, have a beer, try to relax.” Matt patted the spot next to him on the couch.

“I’m sorry mate, but I am so nervous. I keep seeing her in my dreams. I am so worried she is going to be disappointed with me.” Arthur stared sown at his hands. He had never been so apprehensive in his life.

“I know, I have been doing the same thing. Just relax. We still have a few hours.” Matt smiled at his friend, at least they were both having the same feelings.

“Is she beautiful?” Arthur’s question took him by surprise but he nodded

“I know she has a mane of blonde curls and jade green eyes. Everything else gets kind of blurred. I know how it feels though. I’ve never even met her and I want her every second.”

“Same here. She is tall with very red hair. She is gorgeous. Matt what are we going to do? We’re smitten and they don’t even know us.”

“Hopefully we’ll be their dream guys.” Matt smiled. “Today will be a day we remember huh?”

“March third? Yeah I would think so.”

As the hours past they waited, hoping that eventually they would have that weird feeling to just leave. At around ten that night Arthur looks up, “Matt lets go to the pub.”

Matt looked at him bewildered, “The pub? What do you mean the pub? You think we are going to meet them in a pub?” 

“I feel like we need to go. Don’t ask why. Our clocks have half an hour. Let’s go.” Arthur grabbed his and Matt’s coats as Matt got up.

“You, dear sir, are a nutter, but now I feel it too.” Matt took his coat from Arthur and they headed out the door.


	11. Best Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are really super close now everyone. :)  
> I hope you all are still enjoying this one.  
> Thank you for all the support and love. <3

Karen had been driving Alex crazy with all her running around. Today was the day and Karen was ecstatic. She made Alex go out with her to buy a new outfit and get her nails done. Alex enjoyed watching the young woman run herself ragged. Alex had no doubt the man she would meet had no idea what he was getting into, and was in no way prepared for the handful that was Karen Gillan.

Alex had sat with her and got a manicure as well, something that she hadn’t done in a number of years. She had picked a deep red color, her favorite, while Karen had pick a pastel pink.  Karen smiled at her in a way that made Alex nervous. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because Alex, you are enjoying yourself, and letting yourself be pampered. I have never seen you do either.” Karen laughed and Alex stuck her tongue out. Karen was right and Alex knew it. Alex had let her broken heart control everything she did, or more often, didn’t do. Even after he had been gone, she had let her ex-husband steal the years away from her.

She had decided she would no longer deny herself fun and pleasures simply because she thought no one would be there to appreciate it. She would appreciate herself, something she hadn’t let herself do in what seemed like an eternity.

She bought herself three new outfits on her outing with Karen. Blouses and skirts, the things she used to wear before Ralph had left her. She had told Karen that she would have to go in her closet and actually look and see what was there because it had been so long she couldn’t remember.

When they got back to their flats Karen didn’t even stop at her door. She followed right behind Alex into hers. “Karen dear, do you realize that you are moving in with me very slowly?”

Karen looked at her confused, “What do you mean? I live in my flat. My stuffs in my flat. How am I moving in with you?”

Alex set her keys on the counter and turned to look at her friend, “Well, half the clothes that need washing are yours.” She walked to the laundry basket sitting on the sofa, “half of the garments that need to be folded are also yours. You eat over here ever night, unless you go out with friends. I know the exact brand of shampoo and body wash and razors you use because they are all in my shower. You are almost living with me.” Alex smiled. It didn’t bother at all. She liked having someone to talk to and do things with, she just wondered if Karen knew what she was doing.

“Oh,” Karen looked down at her feet trying to decide what to say, “I didn’t realize I was…. Would you like me to stop?” She looked at Alex. She didn’t want to not be over here a lot, but she would control herself if she needed to.

“Don’t be silly. I love having you over here. You have made me realize how much I have missed out on. You have brought me back from the dead. I am so happy you move in next door and found a place here. You are my best friend.” Alex wrapped her arms around her. Karen had made her life enjoyable again. She was forever grateful for that.

Karen hugged her back. She was happy that she had helped Alex but also happy Alex had been there to help her. She may have been old enough to move out when she did, but she knew she hadn’t been mature enough. She was so thankful to have found someone who had been willing to help when she needed it. “I love you Alex.” She whispered.

“I love you too.”

They parted and Karen looked at her arm. She only had an hour. Alex laughed as Karen began running all over the apartment, trying to get ready. Alex just changed her clothes. She didn’t see the point in bothering with makeup tonight, maybe next time Karen forces her to go out.

When it got to down to twenty minutes Karen was bouncing. “Alex you know the pub that’s two blocks away?”

“Yes dear.”

“Let’s go there please.” Karen looked at her like she had never been that sure of anything, so Alex didn’t question her. She just grabbed their coats to protect them from the cold of March and they walked out the door.


	12. Matt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I am a horrible person for doing this, but I'm splitting up the points of view of the meeting.   
> I am sorry it has taken me so long, but I have had school and a new video game and stuff going on.  
> I hope you enjoy this guys cause its almost done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry but this part is going to be super short)

Matt and Arthur had walked in the pub with ten minutes left on their countdowns. “This is really happening.” Matt breathed as he looked down at his band t-shirt and skinny jeans. He was getting more nervous every second and he was beginning to think going back to his flat to change was a good idea. Why would he meet his true love in a pub anyway? Shouldn’t it happen somewhere more romantic? He couldn’t understand the force that pulled him and Arthur there, and it scared him to death.

“It’ll be ok mate. They’re beautiful and they will be here in exactly eight minutes and twenty seconds.” He chuckled out as he checked his wrist. Matt wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. How in the world was he going to do this? He would certainly make a fool of himself and then she would be embarrassed to be his soul mate. He looked at his friend who nodded to the two empty seats at the bar. Matt sat on the bar stool and ordered a whiskey and coke. “Arthur what the hell are we doing?” He had no idea why he was suddenly so nervous. Wasn’t he the one calming Arthur down just a few minutes ago?

“We are waiting for the most beautiful women in the world to happen to find us sitting here, watching a match.” He pointed to the tv in front of Matt. Matt sighed and tried to focus on anything but the numbers on his arm.

When he noticed he was down to five minutes he just stared, unable to look anywhere else. His nerves where making him feel sick to his stomach. He had always been told today was supposed to be a happy day. He should be smiling and ready to see this perfect woman who was meant for him, but he felt like he couldn’t breathe instead.

At two minutes his friend abandon him to go to the loo. He looked around then back down at his arm. He focused on breathing. Passing out right before she got there would be mortifying. He watch as he got down to minute. What was he even going to say to her? Hi I’m your future? No! How do you even go about this? He wanted to get up and leave, but his body was glued in place. He had been so relaxed when they left, how had he let his nerves get away from him?

At thirty seconds he just started reciting the count down in his head. He didn’t look around, or even take a sip of his drink. He was slouching and he just hoped she would find him. Oh no what she didn’t find him? What if she just walked passed and he got to zero and nothing happened?

Ten seconds left. He began holding his breath. At five seconds there was a tap on his shoulder and the voice of an angel asked, “Excuse me, but is this seat take?” He jumped at the surprise. Pulled from his thoughts he sat up straight. Three, two, one…… He turned at looked at her. She was beautiful. Her hair wild around her face, curls of gold. Her eyes where a bright curious green, just like his dreams and he immediately loved her. Her nose had a little bump in it and was red from the cold outside. She looked at him like she was in shock. She opened her mouth but was cut off by the crash at the other end of the pub.


	13. Alex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love you all so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for all the support and love with this one.

Karen and Alex walked in the bar. “Alex, I’m down to 90 seconds!” She squealed. She had been so ready when they walked out of the flat with fifteen minutes left. As they had walked she kept stopping and Alex would grab her to keep her going. She wasn’t going to chicken out, not after Alex had spent every day with her knowing she would never have the same.

            “Well, for God’s sakes, go find him love.” Alex smiled as she and the younger woman moved through the crowd that filled the Pub. She was moving towards the back where the restrooms were located. Poor guy is going to get ambushed while leaving the loo, Alex smiled to herself. She was so happy for Karen she didn’t know what to do. She knew she would never experience the feeling of knowing, that in a few seconds, she would find the love of her life.

            She had lost sight of Karen’s fiery hair in the throng of people, which was shocking to say the least, so she looked to find an empty spot at bar. She wasn’t sure why she wanted to find a spot because she would soon have to find a booth for her, Karen, and whoever the man Karen finds was, but she looked none the less. There was one empty spot next to a brown haired man. As she moved closer she took in his frame. He was slouched over his drink, but he seem tall and lanky. His hair was a deep chocolate color and hung a bit long in places. He didn’t seem to be paying attention to anything but the counter in front of him, obviously a million miles away in his mind. She decide she would at least wait there for Karen, maybe order a drink. She approached the man and tapped his shoulder. “Excuse me, but is this seat taken?”

            He jumped in surprise, and she felt bad for disturbing him. He sat up straight and Alex noticed his left wrist. Three, two, one…….. The man turned to her. His deep set, hazel eyes looked at her with amazement. No one had ever looked at her that way. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Could she possibly be the one for him? No it was impossible she was going to be alone forever. Could this handsome young man be her soul mate? She opened her mouth to ask his name, then the crash at the other end of the pub distracted them.


	14. Karen and Arthur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so i'm feeling merciful and putting Karen and Arthur together. Karen's part was super short anyway.  
> This may be it for a couple days because I have some school obligations but hopefully it won't be too long.  
> I love you guys so much. It makes me so happy to know how much you like this story and how i am honestly making you guys a bit upset drawing it out because i never thought either were possible.  
> Leave me comments telling me how awful I am cause I know it is true  
> <3 Enjoy

She bounced into the bar, “Alex I am down to ninety seconds!” She knew it might be irritating to Alex but she had to be here, it felt as if there was a force physically moving her towards the pub. She couldn't imagine why her Centurion would be here. She couldn't believe how little time was left.

            “Well, for God’s sakes, go find him love.” Alex smiled at her. Then she was off. She wasn't sure why she was moving towards the loo, but he must be very close because her countdown was at sixty seconds.

She didn’t move too fast, she didn’t feel the need to rush to him. She slowly worked her way through the people. She could smell the fish and chips, it made her hungry but she didn’t have time to eat now. Somehow she had managed to keep herself fairly calm. She wasn’t so nervous, just excited. She wanted him to be perfect. She wanted their meeting to be perfect.

At thirty seconds she was getting alarmingly close to the end of the bar. Did she have to go in the loo and find him? No way! That wouldn’t be perfect at all. She looked around again. So many people. The match was on the telly and there was music playing. People were laughing and having fun. She smiled to herself, this is how they would meet. In the middle of fun and joy. She looked at her arm, five seconds. She looked up at the wall of liquor behind the bar, her heart was suddenly booming in her chest. BAM! She hit the floor hard.

“OI! Numpty! Watch where,” two, one…. Her eyes are met with a grey green, “you’re… going.”

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

Arthur walked in the pub with Matt o his heels. He was going to meet her in ten minutes. “This is really happening.” Matt whispered next to him. He could tell how nervous his best friend had become in the twenty minutes it had taken them to walk to the bar.

Arthur knew Matt had been confused when they were attracted to the bar so close to the time of meeting, but he was happy it was somewhere casual. He had decided her would rather her see him in his normal dress than be somewhere fancy or uncomfortable. Matt looked like he might be sick and he smiled and pulled up his sleeve to expose his wrist, “It’ll be ok mate. I’m sure they’re beautiful and they will be here in exactly eight minutes and twenty seconds.”  Matt looked at him, his eyes pleading for a just a bit of a distraction. Arthur nodded towards the empty barstools in front of the telly behind the bar. Maybe a drink would help him relax a bit.

They ordered their drinks and Matt looked over at him, “Arthur what the hell are we doing?”  Arthur smiled at his friend. He knew nothing he could say would help ease the man’s nerves, and he certainly didn’t feel the same anymore. Their roles had reversed. He was excited and happy now, and nowhere near as nervous and poor Matt had become. Somewhere between the flat and the pub they had switched feelings.

He smiled at him, “We are waiting for the most beautiful women in the world to happen to find us sitting here, watching a match.” He pointed to the tv in front of Matt. Matt just slouched and they turned their attention to the match.

At five minutes Arthur couldn’t stop smiling. He knew Matt was berating himself silently, but Arthur was too busy imagining what she would be like to worry himself to death. He hoped she would be loud and fun, different than himself in most ways. Maybe she would the one to get him out of his boring shell.

When they were down to two minutes he really needed the men’s room. He patted Matt’s back and moved to the back of the bar. He had time before she would get there, but there were guys waiting before him. He tried to be patient but the seconds were ticking away. 

By the time he was done he was down to five seconds. He ran through the door looking down at his arm. He hit her hard and they both fell to the floor. His ears where assaulted by a loud Scottish brogue. “OI! Numpty! Watch where,” two, one…. Her face was like the moon, pale and shining. Her hair was the reddest he’d ever seen, just like his dreams, and it was beautiful, “you’re… going.”  He heard nothing but her voice.


	15. unprepared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so after this i have one more to go.   
> I am apologizing in advance because I know I am letting you guys down with this story. It got away from me somewhere in the middle and i never quite got it back together.   
> I promise I'll do better next time.  
> As always thank you for your love and support for this excuse of a fic. It makes me smile that everyone thinks so much more of it than I do.   
> <3 you

Matt looked away from the beautiful woman in front of him down to the end of the bar. He knew it was Arthur even before he saw him, sprawled across the redheaded girl. He laughed and looked back at the beautiful lady he was tied to. “I’m Matt, and that poor bloke down there on the ground is my mate Arthur. His clock just ran out and I believe the redhead’s did too,” he laughed.

“Well I’m Alex, and that redhead is Karen. She’s my best friend.” Alex was still looking at him in disbelief.

“Can I ask why you are looking at me like that?” He was worried. She didn’t seem happy about meeting him. Why wasn’t she excited? He studied her closer. She was a bit older than him, maybe five or six years.

“Well, to be completely honest, I wasn’t expecting to meet my soul mate at this moment.” She looked down at her hands. Her wrist were covered, hiding the offending area. Her wrist was blank. She had thought she would be alone forever. She had thought she would never be good enough for anyone. She looked back up into this strangers eyes and she saw fear, and hope, and worry. He must be worried about her, worried about why she was acting so strange. He was scared she didn’t want him she assumed and she was betting he hoped he was wrong.

She sat heavily on the barstool next to him. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her suddenly racing heart. “I have no mark. Where your numbers are at zero, my wrist is blank.” She pulled up her jacket sleeve and exposed her left forearm.

Matt looked down at her small wrist. There was nothing. Only the porcelain complexion of this gorgeous, and possibly a bit frightened woman. He slowly reached out his hand and brushed his fingertips against her wrist. “So you never knew?” was all he said.

She shook her head, “I always thought I was meant to be alone. Then I was married, but that was obviously wrong because right now I am doing the same thing he did. I am being shown that I was meant to be happy, it was just a surprise.” She smiled. She suddenly felt a little less hate towards her bastard ex-husband. She now knew the feeling of being a significant part of someone’s life. She couldn’t imagine how much he must have wondered about her. How many times he had thought about this moment and she suddenly felt inadequate. She had never done the same and she certainly couldn’t have been what he was expecting.

As if he had read her mind, Matt whispered softly, “You are exactly what I had always dreamed.” She looked up at him and her eyes began to water. He loved her already, without knowing anything about her, he had accepted her without question.

Matt’s eyes grew wide as her eyes glistened. Oh no she’s going to cry, he thought. What had he done wrong? He started to flail a bit not knowing if he should grab her hand, or hug her, or simply sit. Then she laughed at him as tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.

“Matt, don’t worry. Happy tears. I’m surprised that’s all. You have been preparing for this, I haven’t.” She smiled.

Karen walked over holding Arthur’s hand, both of them smiling like idiots. When Karen saw Alex’s face she turned back to Arthur. “We may need to stay over here for a while.”

“Why? It looks like my mate, has found his girl too.”

“Yeah, I see. That is my friend Alex. She didn’t know she would be meeting him tonight because she doesn’t have a mark. Soooooo lets go sit at that table over there, and call them over when she isn’t half crying.” Karen pushed Arthur towards the table in the corner where they could still see their friends.

“She really doesn’t have a mark?” Arthur asked as he sat down.

“No she doesn’t. Her story is a bit sad really. She had a horrid husband at one point who left her and she thought she would never be love. She will be happy now hopefully.” She smiled as she saw Matt grab Alex’s hands and squeeze them. He was obviously smitten already, and it seemed he was encouraging her to talk to him so he could help. This was good. Alex needed someone to help her get through her problems.

“I’m sorry, by the way, for running into you.” Arthur looked down, embarrassed.

“It’s fine. I rather liked having you on top of me.” She winked.

 Arthur looked up quickly feeling himself flush all the way up his neck, “Wh –what?” Karen just laughed at him.

 

 

Matt didn’t speak for a while Alex tried to process the past ten minutes. She kept looking at him, studying every detail, committing it all to memory in case she woke up and this was a dream. Matt seemed sweet and he the way he looked at her made her squirm a bit, but it all felt right. It was much better than the love she thought she had felt for Ralph, it felt natural. When she finally gathered her thoughts she decided this was the best thing that had happened to her since Karen had moved in over two years before. She smiled at him, “Do you want to meet Karen now?”

Matt grinned childishly, “Yeah.” They got up and moved towards the table where their friends had placed themselves.

 

When they sat down Karen immediately began to chatter. Alex laughed at her as she asked all kinds of inappropriately personal questions to the men they had just met, then laughed harder when they began asking them back. They ordered drinks and watched the match and got to know each other. They were going to spend the rest of their lives together.


	16. A Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this doesn't disappoint, I wrote and rewrote the ending many times and this was the best one I had.  
> I am so happy everyone enjoyed this fic even when I wasn't.  
> I will probably write additional short pieces that go with this filling in some of the gaps in time.  
> I just hope everyone does come after me for this ending.  
> Love you guys soooooo much!

A year later, Alex is lying in bed. She is listening to Matt snore quietly and she smiles. In a year he had changed her entire life. When she had told him she was going to be fifty a week after they met, he laughed and refused to believe she was that much older than him. When her birthday arrived he took her out to dinner. He held her hand over the table, bought her a pair of earrings, and had the waiter bring a piece for chocolate cake with a little candle on top. Out of all the birthdays she had, that simple little thing had made it the best one yet. It was also the night they first kissed, and the night he first stayed with her. He had proven himself to me so much better than Ralph in every way. He was gentle and sweet with her and he wasn't mad when she said she didn't want to have sex, he just cuddled her instead. He was perfect.

In a year she had met his parents, his sister and her husband. Laura and Robert made sure to embarrass Matt, not that he needed the help. Matt tripped and broke things all the time. She smile as she thought about how much Laura loved her little brother. Laura loved Arthur just as much and Alex could tell family gatherings would be much more interesting for the boys now that she, Laura, and Karen would all be targeting them at once.

Laura had told both her and Karen that they were her sisters now. She would be there for them whenever they needed her and if the boys did something stupid they could come stay with her and Robert. Laura had told Matt that he had done nothing to ever deserve a woman like Alex. He had just hung his head and agreed, but Alex shook her head and said, “He has accepted me with all my scars and insecurities, he has done enough to keep me.” She winked at him as Laura awed over her words.  

She had also watched Karen and Arthur get married. Arthur wasted no time with that. They were truly perfect for one another and Arthur had ask her only three months after they had met. Karen decided she didn’t want a big wedding because they took so god awful long to plan, so they had a very intimate ceremony with just family in Arthur’s childhood home. Alex of course was very involved because she had done it before. Karen would have driven herself crazy if Alex hadn’t been there to tell her to slow down and shut up.

Through every single day Matt had been right next to her, holding her hand. He was and actor of sorts and took her to his auditions. He got her a decent job doing a play. He smiled and told her it was only the beginning because she was wonderful and she would get loads of offers for parts after this. Matt had helped her forget how hurt she had always been and he had finally healed the open wound that Ralph had left on her heart.

She rolled onto her side and snuggled up close to Matt. She stared at the engagement ring on her left hand, in a week she would be married to her soul mate. She giggled at how, after a year, she was still waiting to wake up from this wonderful dream. She still felt as though she had wasted so much time wallowing in self-pity, even knowing they had met at exactly the right time. She had begun to love herself again just days before and Matt had apparently only become mature enough to handle a relationship months before.

Matt had become her everything. As she adjusted her position again he began to stir. He opened his eyes and smiled, “Still not sleeping I see.”

“Sorry. I’m just excited is all,” She kissed his cheek, “Go back to sleep love.”

He wrapped his arms around her and she cuddled close. He resumed his quiet snores and she laid awake remembering how their eyes had met.


End file.
